1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention are directed to circuit breaker apparatuses and, more particularly, to circuit breaker apparatuses including a circuit breaker retaining mechanism.
2. Description of the Background
Circuit breakers are capable of interrupting high ampere current in various industrial, commercial or personal electrical applications and may be categorized generally as draw-out types of circuit breakers and fixed types of circuit breakers. In that capacity, draw-out types of circuit breakers may be attached to circuitry and, during their respective lifecycles, may need to be serviced or replaced. As such, it is desirable to construct draw-out types of circuit breakers which are relatively easily and safely serviced or, when necessary, replaced.
In conventional draw-out types of circuit breakers, an operator may easily be able to draw a circuit breaker out from a system and, just as easily, mishandle the operation and/or damage the circuit breaker.
Conversely, other draw-out systems employ a feature that prevents such damage but also makes servicing the circuit breaker complicated and inefficient. Generally, in these systems, a lever protrudes from a front panel. The operator elevates the lever and simultaneously withdraws the circuit breaker from the system. As such, it is required that the operator devote one hand to elevating the lever and the other hand to withdrawing the circuit breaker which may be difficult.
As an additional matter, in the systems employing the above noted feature, the lever is positioned in such a location as to prevent the overall system from being IP40 compliant, which is acceptable for the intended purpose of such systems, but still leaves room for improvement.